Japanese CoQ10 receives GRAS

Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation will start supplying its CoQ10 as an
ingredient for use in foods and beverages in the US market,
following its certification as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe).

The Japanese company has been producing CoQ10 - or Coenzyme Q10 -
for around 25 years, and is already supplying it to the food and
beverage industries in Japan.
The firm now hopes to expand its reach into the US market, where
the antioxidant is still primarily used in dietary supplements,
although it has also started to creep into foods and drinks.
Asahi Kasei has self-affirmed the GRAS status of its ingredient,
following an analysis of safety and quality data by an independent
panel of scientists. The firm said its CoQ10 is
manufactured under pharmaceutical GMP conditions, is free of animal
materials, and is also certified as Kosher.
Benefits ​
CoQ10 is a powerful antioxidant, which plays a vital role in the
production of chemical energy in mitochondria - the 'power plants'
of the cell - by participating in the production of adenosince
triphosphate (ATP), the body's co-called 'energy currency'.
It has been studied for its role in cognitive health, heart health,
and anti-ageing (in oral and topical formulations).
Market​
Historically, the CoQ10 market has been dominated by four Japanese
players with the capacity to supply multi-ton quantities of the
ingredient, three of which produce CoQ10 through a fermentation
process, with one through organic synthesis.
Some two thirds of the US-sold CoQ10 is still thought to come from
Japan.
According to estimates by one US supplier of CoQ10 - ZMC - around
170m tons of the ingredient were sold in the US in 2007.
Data from the market research firm IRI also points to a surge in
demand, revealing that CoQ10 saw a 19 percent increase in dollar
sales volume at retail level in the US, and a 9 percent increase in
unit sales.
As awareness of the ingredient increases, so too are the number of
consumers actively seeking out CoQ10 supplements. Estimates
suggest that currently around six million consumers in the US are
supplementing an average of 82mg CoQ10 daily.
CoQ10 in foods​
The antioxidant is also emerging as a functional ingredient in food
and beverage products.
According to data from Mintel's Global New Products Database (GNPD)
six new energy drinks containing the antioxidant were launched in
the US last year, and although the figure is still relatively low,
it reveals a gradual but strong increase from previous
years.
In 2006, CoQ10 was used in four new food and beverage products, in
2005 it appeared in two and in 2004 it was used in only one new
product.
Globally, there were 35 overall launches of foods and beverages
containing CoQ10 in 2007. This was a slight dip from 43
products in 2006, but still up on 18 launches in 2004 and 23 in
2005.